The concept of magnetically levitated vehicles, such as trains, has suggested many benefits and advantages. Early implementations of magnetically levitated vehicles, however, have failed to achieve many of these advantages. Some of the drawbacks of many magnetically levitating vehicle systems include the cost in constructing, maintaining and operating these systems.
Recent developments have provided some significant improvements over earlier systems. One of these improvements includes the use of Halbach arrays. The increased magnetic field and the simplified guideway or track configurations that can be utilized with the Halbach arrays greatly reduce costs and complexity.
The use of Halbach arrays allow vehicles to travel at significant speeds. The guideways, however, must still be precisely designed to compensate for small construction defects that can adversely affect the ride of the vehicle. Further, navigating turns and curves along the guideways introduces some problems in design and construction that can require added complexity and/or increased costs.